Jade and Nikita Ramsey starring in Joshua Grannell's ALL ABOUT EVIL, playing at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival, April 22 - May 6, 2010.

Photo: Marcy Cravat, Courtesy S.F. Film Society

Jade and Nikita Ramsey starring in Joshua Grannell's ALL ABOUT...

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Brigitte Helm as the robot in Fritz Lang's landmark 1927 science fiction film "Metropolis." A new version, with about a half-hour of footage believed to be lost restored, shows at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival at the Castro on July 16, 2010.

Photo: S.F. Silent Film Festival

Brigitte Helm as the robot in Fritz Lang's landmark 1927 science...

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Fishbone's Angelo Moore testifies to the crowd in Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson's documentary "Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone."

Here are some of the memorable movie events covered in 96 Hours during 2010, in chronological order:

"The Lady From Shanghai," April 21, Castro Theatre: Turner Classic Movie fans everywhere were thrilled the cable channel launched its first film festival, even if they couldn't get to Los Angeles, where it was held. Five other cities were lucky enough to get a free taste of the festival, and San Francisco was treated to an Orson Welles classic partially filmed here. Director Peter Bogdanovich, Welles' good friend, regaled the 900-strong crowd with Wellesian anecdotes, with Jan Wahl interviewing him onstage.

"All About Evil," May 1, Castro: Local personality Joshua Grannell is better known as Peaches Christ, famous for her "Midnight Mass" film screenings. But shedding the drag and putting on his director's viewfinder led to one of the best locally produced films of the year, a severed-tongue-in-cheek horror film with wit as sharp as the knives. Stars Natasha Lyonne, Mink Stole and Peaches herself helped Grannell kick off the film with a memorable Saturday night show at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

"The Whistler" films, Roxie and Pacific Film Archive, May and June: Elliot Lavine, who programmed film noir series regularly at the Roxie in the 1990s, revived his love for the dark genre, bringing back his B-movie festivals. His biggest coup: getting Columbia Pictures to strike new prints of their 1944-48 series, never on DVD. Richard Dix played a different character in each film, exploring the dark side of some moral dilemma. In a way, these were like 1940s versions of "The Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episodes.

"The Red Machine," Red Vic Movie House, May 27: Making an indie film is tough enough, but Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm really loaded the dice against themselves when they decided to set their dirt-cheap spy thriller in the 1930s. That they pulled off a period piece on such a low budget is nothing short of amazing. An excellent script and cast helps.

Kurosawa's 100th birthday retrospectives, summer: You had to fiendishly keep track of the movie schedules, but when you put it all together - Landmark Theatres playing a 25th anniversary print of "Ran"; the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and Viz Cinema in Japantown showing retrospectives; and the Castro jumping in with a film here and there, most notably "The Seven Samurai," "Kagemusha" and "Ran" - the 100th birthday celebration of the late Akira Kurosawa was one of the most extensive retrospectives on 35mm film of a major prolific film artist you could ever hope to have. And it's not over; the Viz Cinema has brought back some of the films, including Sunday's screening of "The Seven Samurai" at 1:30 p.m.

"Metropolis" restoration, Castro, July 16: "This is the most important find in cinema history," said Anita Monga, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's artistic director, and she wasn't exaggerating. On a magical night before a sellout (1,400-strong) crowd, San Francisco got its first look at the restored Fritz Lang science fiction classic, with a half hour of footage not seen since its 1927 premiere. On hand: the Argentine archivists who found a battered 16mm print of the whole film, and spurred its restoration. It's now out on Blu-ray and DVD.

"Breathless," July, Embarcadero: It was quite a year for Jean-Luc Godard; the restored 50th anniversary print of one of the most influential films in cinema was released (now out on a great-looking Blu-ray), and then he announced he was snubbing a lifetime achievement Oscar. Asked by a European journalist what the award meant to him, Godard responded, "Nothing. ... Do they actually know my films? The award is called the Governor's Award. Does this mean that Schwarzenegger gives me the award?"

"Winnebago Man," July 30, Lumiere: Jack Rebney was an early Internet star - outtakes from his angry rant during the shooting of a 1989 Winnebago salesman training film had him dubbed "the world's angriest man." Ben Steinbauer found Rebney living as a recluse in Northern California, and his excellent documentary shows a complex, crusty, teddy bear of a man who delighted the opening-night crowd with his visceral wit. "There are a lot of things I dislike, with regard to just about everything that goes on and has gone on since about 1929," Rebney said. I feel ya, man. Now out on DVD.

Fishbone in concert, Oct. 14-15: The legendary L.A. punk-funk band got its story properly told in Bay Area filmmaker Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson's "Everyday Sunshine," and the guys backed up screenings at San Francisco DocFest and the Mill Valley Film Festival with rollicking concerts on back-to-back nights.